Chapter 13, 14
Sex By Force
Forcible Rape
 Sexual
intercourse with a non-consenting person
obtained by force or threat of force
 Statutory
(varies by state)
 Spousal
Historically
not viewed as a crime or viewed as a property
crime if committed by another
Incidence of Rape
 NHSLS
- 22% women reported being forced
to do something sexual by a man
 500,000 women sexually assaulted every year
 170,000
rapes
 140,000 attempted rapes
 Every 3 minutes a woman is raped in US
US
(reported) rates 13 X higher than Britain & 20 X
higher than Japan
Types of Rapes
 Stranger
 Rape
rape (rare)
by assailant previously unknown to the person
 Vulnerable victims
Types of Rapes
 Acquaintance
rape (most common)
 Rape
by known person
 Date rape
Often
follows consensual behavior
1/4 of female students raped by senior year
1/3 male students report committing rape
Alcohol & myths
He said - she said
Types of Rapes (NHSLS)
 96%
of rapes committed by person known to
victim
Types of Rapes
 Rape
by women
 Rare
& often involves aiding a man in rape
 Are men raped by women?
 Sarrel
&Masters, 1982
 Manual
stimulation (against his will) can produce
erection & ejaculation
 Fear may increase responsiveness
NHSLS
- 1.5% women admitted raping a man
College males (N = 204) 34% had been forced
Class data (N = 104, Females = 74)
 Have
you ever forced someone to do something sexual
against their will?
 YES
Male (6.9%)
Female (14.9%)
 Have you ever been forced to do something sexual
against your will?
 YES
Male (17.2%)
Female (37.8%)
 Video
 MSNBC:
Stories of acquaintance rape
Impacts of Rape: Resick (1993)
 Rape
Trauma Syndrome
 1. Acute/Disorganization
(weeks-months)
PTSD
(nightmares, unreality, physical Sx, flashbacks)
Affect (fear, anxiety, depression, guilt)
Adjustment( low SE, work, suicide, sexual functioning, drug
abuse, trust)
 2.
Reorganization (months-years)
Reorganization
of views of self & world
Regain sense of personal security, control & self-esteem
Lingering fears & expression of anger
Impacts of Rape: Resick (1993)
 Variables
impacting recovery
 Poor
prior mental health & life stressors -> worse
 Internal Locus of Control -> worse recovery
 ‘Pressing charges’ -> better recovery (SE)
 Adequate social support -> better recovery
Reestablish
 Meaning
trust & attachment with others
making -> better recovery
Causes of Rape
 Victim
precipitated (blame the victim)
 Rape
fantasies, style of dress or behavior
 Few rapes involve victim precipitation
 What
 Sex
else?
v. power
Causes of Rape
 Sex
 Male
desire for sex from unwilling females
 Use aggression to express/obtain sex (date rape)
 Sperm wars & Reactance theory
 Power/Dominance/Hatred
 Use
sexuality to expression aggression
 Sociocultural factors encourage a culture of rape
Teach
men that rape/violence against women is OK
 Feminist
theory of rape
Rape Is About Sex
 Sperm
wars
 Reactance
Sperm Wars
 Biological
 Appears
approach often not PC
to condone rape
Adaptive
 No!
strategy, genetic,
But proper understanding is needed to prevent
rape
Even
if conclusions unpleasant, not PC
 Only
deal with rape in which no physical harm (other
than rape) occurs)
Not
dealing w/ sexual sadists, murders
Sperm Wars
 Rape
very common (& likely inherited)
 50%
known societies viewed as common
~1/10
reported
 Rape
common among other animals (Ducks, monkeys, insects)
 Commonly results in pregnancy
 Rape
adaptive reproductive strategy
 Ancestors
who raped had more offspring
 Passed on tendency to rape
 Most humans alive had ancestors who raped
Sperm Wars
 Rape
reproductive strategy for men
 Men
who are very unappealing to women
 Men who are average and use rape as an additional
strategy (also mate w/ consent)
On
average rapists produces more children
Not w/o risk (injury, death, incarceration)
Most successful those who effectively weigh costs & benefits
of rape & implement this strategy only when costs low and
benefits high
Sperm Wars
 Gang
rape (Male group together rape)
 Humans
(war, etc.)
Monkeys
and birds also engage in gang rape
 Advantage/disadvantage
to male
 Chance
of inseminating unwilling female
 Fight a sperm war (4 in gang 1/4 insemination chance)
Rape
more women than number of group
Smaller group better
Sperm Wars
 Why
do so few men rape?
 Genetic
minority
 All men desire rape but sanctions prevent benefits from
outweighing costs
Support:
Rape f increases in war (more men rape)
War may swing balance towards benefits
 Few
males to protect females
 Unlikely to be caught
 Consequences seem minor in face of constant death
Day 2
Narcissistic Reactance Theory
 Why
do so few men rape?
 Not
all are narcissists
 People
want to maintain freedom to do what they
want to do
 Reactance occurs if freedom is threatened
 Increased
interest in forbidden behavior (X)
 Initiate behaviors to reassert freedom (do X)
 Aggress against person limiting freedom
Narcissistic Reactance Theory
 Women
refusing sex produces reactance
 Increased
interest
 Do forbidden behavior (rape)
Ex-spouses,
 Most
Goal
rapes perpetrated by former lover
is stake their claim, posses woman
 Pleasure

stalkers reassert their sexual freedom
often minimal for rapist
Aggression (resistance increases injury)
Narcissistic Reactance Theory
 Problems
 Sexual
refusal common rape rare
 Most men do not rape
 Solution:
Men who rape see refusal at threat to
freedom
 Those
are likely to be narcissistic men
Narcissistic Reactance Theory
 Narcissism
= self-love, self-importance,
uniqueness, special
 Narcissists feel:
 Entitlement
- they are owed adoration, success, & sex
Associated
w/ perceiving refusal as limiting freedom
 Exploitation
- positive attitude of using others
 Lack of empathy - don’t think about others
Rapists
don’t know victims feelings (not considered)
Narcissistic Reactance Theory
 High
N -> strong reactance & more likely to rape
 Rapists high on N
 Conceited,
think victims like them, multitalented
 Peer groups emphasize sex (conquests = status)
 Video
 MSNBC:
Motives of rapists
Rape Is About Sex
 Sperm
wars: Rape is adaptive for men
 Enhances
 Reactance:
reproductive rates/quality
Perceived freedom constraint evokes R
 Narcissistic
men view sexual refusal as freedom
limiting & attempt to reassert their freedom via rape
Treatment of Rape Victims
Dr. Anthony
Jurich
Professor of Family Studies & Human
Services
jurich@ksu.edu
Day 3
Rape Is About Power: Feminist
Theory (Brownmiller, 1975)
 Rape
is about power and violence
 Political
act to dominate women by fear
 Keep women in an inferior place in society
 Rape
is rooted in patriarchal societies
 North America
& Western Europe rape cultures
 Men taught it to sustain political status quo
 Conscious
 Few
process of intimidation
men rape but all men benefit from rape
 All men consciously & deliberately support rapists
Sociocultural Factors & Rape
 Gender
 Men
 Media
roles
sexually aggressive, women submissive
(videos, pornography)
 Women
are...
 Sports
mentality (‘score’, Spur Posse)
 Myths (victim blaming)
 Women
want to be taken
Studies Testing Feminist Theory

Malamuth et al (1983)
 1/3
- 2/3 of young men said they would rape if assured of
not being caught
 All potential rapists support Brownmiller

Other studies seem to fail to support this theory
 See
textbook
Class Data (N = 104, Females = 74)
I would force if guaranteed I would not get caught
1 = strongly disagree
5 = Strongly agree
Mean
%>1
Male
Female
p
1.45
27.6%
1.03
1.4%
.001
 Video
 MSNBC:
College men and rape
Problems W/ Single Cause Approaches
 Many
different causes/motives for rape
 Anger
rape (40%)
Vicious,
 Power
rape (55%)
Desire
 Sadistic
to control and dominate
rape (5%)
Highly
 Sexually
Date
unplanned rape
ritualized, savage rape
motivated rape?
rape
Problems W/ Single Cause
Approaches
 Motives/Causes
 Sex
can fuse
& aggression can fuse
Sexuality
expressed through violence
Violence expressed through sexuality
 Rape
complex phenomenon unlikely to be easily
explained w/ one catch-all cause
Characteristics of Rapists
 Not
all men are rapists
 Rapists vary widely in demographics
 Not
mentally ill or retarded
 Social inadequacy
 Antisocial
 Sadistic (sexually aroused by violence)
Characteristics of Rapists
 Self-identified
sexually aggressive men
 Condone
rape/violence
 Sexually experienced
 Peer groups encourage sex
 Use sex for social dominance
Controlling
 No
social conscience (uninhibited)
 Traditional sex/gender role beliefs
 Misogynistic
Sexist,
degrading humor
Ryan & Kanjorski (1998)
 Examined
link between enjoyment of sexist
humor, acceptance of rape myths
 Results: Men enjoyed sexist humor > women
 Men:
Enjoyment of sexist humor + correlated w/
Rape
myth acceptance
Likelihood of forced sex
Sexual aggression
 Suggest
that men likely to commit rape are those who
regularly derogate women
Group Activity VII: Rape Myths
 In
a mixed-gender groups of four-five students each,
address Qs 1 AND 2.

After 10 minutes, one student from each group should summarize
your answers to the class.

Please turn these in after class!
Group Activity VII: Rape Myths
 1.
Which myths showed a gender difference?
 For
1 of these myths provide 1 reason why gender
differences might exist & how they could -> rape.
 2.
What myths were most/least accepted overall?
 Why
do you think those specific myths were so widely
believed/disbelieved?
Conclusions
 Rape
common
 Most
likely committed by known person
 Causes are many from sex to power to sadism
 Rapists
tend to be misogynistic sociopaths
 Believe
in rape myths
 Derogate women
 Rape
has damaging psychological impacts
 Recovery
is possible
 Key is treatment, social support and meaning making